York Hungry Minds school meals project hailed a success

Researchers from the Universities of Leeds, Sheffield and York published interim evaluations of the City of York Council ‘York Hungry Minds’ pilot which began in January 2024, running at Burton Green Primary School and Westfield Primary Community School.

The council said the pilot could be extended to two more schools in York in 2025, and detailed discussion of the reports’ findings at a council scrutiny last night (November 5).

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In England, school lunches are available free of charge to all key stage one (KS1) pupils, and children in key stage two (KS2) are currently eligible if they live in a household which meets government criteria around income.

The council said this excluded many children at the KS2 level - Years 3 to 6 - whose families are experiencing financial hardship.

During the York Hungry Minds pilot, free school lunches are offered to KS2 pupils on the roll at Westfield Primary School and there is a ‘whole school’ offer of free breakfasts at Burton Green Primary School.

Up to 50 pupils a day come to the breakfast club at Burton Green Primary School, the headteacher said (Image: Kevin Glenton) Council officials said both schools saw evidence of improved behaviour as a result of children feeling less hungry, with staff noting improvements in pupils’ focus and energy levels after receiving a free breakfast at Burton Green Primary School.

At Westfield Primary Community School, increases in attendance were noticed in both of the terms after the pilot began.

The Press went along to Burton Green Primary School’s breakfast club on Tuesday (November 5) – with the offer from a fortnightly rotation which includes baked beans on wholemeal toast, porridge with fruit, mixed berry smoothies and healthy blueberry muffins, or a toasted bagel with cream cheese or jam, and fruit salad.

Pupils arrived from around 8.20am, 20 minutes before the official start of the school day.

The interim report from the University of Leeds into the Clifton school said data on termly lateness and attendance was routinely collected by the school and sent to them in an anonymous format.

The report said ‘during the first two terms of the pilot, pupil lateness at the school decreased to the point where improving punctuality was no longer a component of the school’s development plan’.

Burton Green Primary School maximises opportunities for learning time at the breakfast club, which includes maths games and reading books (Image: Kevin Glenton) Headteacher Ash Green said: “All children are now in their classes for 10 to nine doing their morning maths.

“Lateness was common, this is my seventh year here and it has been something that we’ve been trying to tackle for a long time.

“I think everybody’s perception of what time school starts has changed, there’s been a whole shift, rather than aiming for nine, they’re aiming for a quarter past eight.

“We have most children in school by 8.30am now.”

The headteacher said that meant an additional 75 minutes of maths per week per pupil at the moment.

Mrs Green said: “Staff have been able to use the time they’ve got back.

“They’re not catching up with pupils who have come late, so it means that every child is having a full access to education, but more education really because the full class is in.

“One of our main focusses is maths this year and this extra time means a lot.”

Lunchtime at Westfield Primary School in York (Image: Newsquest) The universities’ interim reports said they couldn’t statistically link attendance at breakfast clubs and take up of the free school lunches with academic attainment over just the two terms, but the council said the local findings support national evidence which suggests that they support children’s ability to learn and can reduce health inequalities between disadvantaged children and their peers.

Councillor Bob Webb, executive member for children, young people and education at the council, said: “I think the pilot’s gone remarkably well to be honest.

“I think overall I’m quite impressed with the attendance in particular.

“Breakfasts are making a huge difference to getting young people into school and introducing that soft start to the day, that transition from home to school and importantly, making sure that young people are fed before doing those morning lessons.”

Laura Williams, the council’s assistant director of customer and communities, said: “These initial findings show clear evidence of the positive impact of universal free school meals and will shape the future direction of free school meal delivery in the city.

“I’d like to thank all those involved in making the pilots such a success.”